


Swapped

by Amberpelt



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Anxiety, Bodyswap, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Paranoia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amberpelt/pseuds/Amberpelt
Summary: Shinichi accidentally returns to his normal body just in time for a Kaitou KID heist. When he tries to get the jewel back from KID, a white light overcomes them. When they open their eyes, they're staring back at themselves. Now Shinichi has to find a way to get them back in their normal bodies before Kaito starts shrinking.Note: This takes place in the canon universe, not the movies, so Kaito doesn't know Shinichi is Conan.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Comments: 20
Kudos: 83





	1. Pandora?

Shinichi had needed an escape desperately. It had been obvious. Haibara knew, Agasa knew, the Detective Boys knew, even Ran had recognized it. So, when Agasa had once again accidentally given him an antidote to help with a cough, no one complained. Shinichi perked up at being back in his body. Agasa was glad to see him happy for the first time in a while and even Haibara didn’t scold their irresponsibility much.

Shinichi was even more excited that it’d happened on the day of a Kaitou KID heist. He’d grown just a few hours before the heist and it was a twenty-four-hour antidote so he felt safe going.

Shinichi had hid on the rooftop. In his experience, trying to prevent KID from getting the gem was futile. However, he could get it back from him on the rooftop. When KID burst through the door to the rooftop, Shinichi was right in front of him. His blue eyes locked onto the gem immediately. Kaito stopped in his tracks, surprised by the highschooler standing in front of him. He’d been expecting his usual grade school-sized friend. Shinichi reached for the gem and had his fist clenched around it before Kaito could react.

Kaito jerked away from him, trying to pry the gem out of Shinichi’s grasp. Shinichi kept his hand firmly wrapped around the gem. Kaito regained his poker face and pulled out his card gun, hoping to scare the detective into letting go. The intimidation tactic didn’t work. Kaito began to pull the trigger, but before he could shoot, the gem began to glow, drawing both of the boys’ attention to it.

There was a bright flash of light. Suddenly, an unseen force threw both boys backward. Shinichi rolled and barely managed to grip the edge of the building to stop himself from plummeting ten stories. Kaito was flung against the wall surrounding the stairwell he’d run up to get to the roof. The magician recovered first, pain coursing through his back. The detective pulled himself back onto the roof not much later. They looked at each other and stopped dead.

Kaito was staring at himself. Shinichi looked from the distinct cowlick he’d seen in the mirror every morning to the stunning blue eyes he was sure belonged to him to the tan pants and dark green shirt he’d been wearing. Kaito was looking at the white suit he wore regularly and his unique indigo eyes. Kaito was the first to pull himself to his senses. His brain raced for an explanation until his eyes fell on the gem they’d dropped when getting thrown back.

“No way…” he said, slowly approaching the gem. He reached out a hand he knew didn’t belong to him and picked it up. He held it up to the moon, expecting to see a red gem shine through the large white one. He was surprised when red didn’t shine through, but rather the gem became blindly white. Not Pandora, but definitely magic. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

“What happened?” Shinichi asked, flinching when the voice that came out was the one of his nemesis rather than his own.

Kaito looked at Shinichi, still finding it odd to be looking at himself rather than the lanky detective whose body he now inhabited. “Magic.”

Shinichi scoffed. “So this is just another one of your magic tricks. Of course.”

Kaito shook his, or rather, Shinichi’s head. “Not a magic trick. Magic.”

Shinichi almost laughed, but he realized Kaito was serious. “Like, real magic? Magic doesn’t exist.”

Kaito rolled his eyes. “Of course a detective like you would say that. How do you explain this, then?”

Shinichi considered for a moment then said, “It’s one of your tricks. You must’ve switched your clothes and mine when you pushed me back.”

“You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? How would I have been able to swap your clothes and mine that fast? And if that's the case, why do you have my voice and my eyes? I may be a great magician, but I couldn’t swap your clothes that quickly without you realizing and I wouldn’t be able to put contacts on you either. This is magic.”

Shinichi opened his mouth to speak, closed it, thought for a moment, opened his mouth again, and closed it again. Kaito smugly waited for him to say something. Shinichi glared at him. “You must’ve knocked me out with something, then.”

“On this rooftop? With Nakamori-keibu and his task force chasing after me?” Shinichi looked away again. He considered that this might just be a similar rooftop, but he was sure it was the same one.

He finally threw his hands up. “So you resort to magic? Magic isn’t real!”

Kaito thought of Akako. “I happen to know it is. And there’s no other explanation. But I have someone who should be able to help-”

Kaito was cut off by the door to the roof being flung open. Ginzo Nakamori charged out, followed by his task force. Ginzo pointed at Shinichi, who was currently in Kaito’s body. “KID! Get him!”

Shinichi flinched and held up his hands. He was about to say they had the wrong person when one of the task force members caught up to him and lunged at him. Shinichi dodged and, upon seeing his white gloved hands, remembered he was, in fact, Kaitou KID. He looked to Kaito for guidance, who had moved out of the way when Ginzo had charged onto the rooftop and was looking rather relieved when they went after Shinichi instead of him. Kaito saw Shinichi looking at him for help and gestured to the right side of his waist where the button to activate his hang glider was. Shinichi clumsily fumbled around the area, finding the button while dodging another few task force members. He pressed it and gave a little start as the hang glider on his back opened. He looked at Kaito, who just smiled encouragingly and pointed off the roof.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, hating his life, and ran towards the edge of the roof. Seeing he was going to jump, Ginzo lunged for him and latched his hand around Shinichi’s ankle. Shinichi’s brain flashed to Gin and Vodka. He kicked Ginzo’s hand off and fled, mentally scolding himself. It wasn’t Gin. It wasn’t Vodka. It wasn’t any of Them. It was just Ginzo, trying to catch Kaitou KID. And right now, he was Kaitou KID. So, the confused detective jumped off the edge of the building and, using the hang gliding skills he remembered from his trip to Hawaii, glided away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how this ended up focusing mostly on Shinichi, but I'm okay with it. I'm honestly not very proud of the writing I've done in this book, but I like the story and it was fun to write so I'm posting it anyways. There will be some Kaishin here, but I'm not going to focus on it. I'm also sorry if the chapter endings feel awkward. This was originally going to be a oneshot, but I ended up with over 9,000, so I didn't plan where chapters were going to end while I was writing.  
> Constructive criticism is encouraged. I'll try to update every Friday.


	2. Meeting the Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito runs into Ran, Shinichi can't catch a break, and Akako can't leave Kaito alone for five minutes without him getting into trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter felt short to start off with and I already have a few more chapters written, so I'm just gonna go ahead and post chapter two today as well.

Kaito kept his poker face, but he had no clue how this detective acted around the Task Force. So, while Ginzo was distracted, he silently grabbed the gem, slipped back into the stairwell, and hurried back down to the ground floor. He saw the direction his white suit was gliding in and started running to meet him when he landed.

Then he bumped into what felt like a brick wall. Falling backward and landing heavily on his butt, Kaito felt stupid. He should’ve paid more attention to where he was going. He was about to get up and start running again, not wanting to give Shinichi time alone in his body, but when he looked up he was met with a fuming girl.

The girl had long brown hair and purple eyes. She was glowering at him like he was the scum of the earth. “Shinichi!” she hollered at him, startling him. “Why didn’t you say you were in town?”

Kaito stammered, about to say she had the wrong person, only to remember she probably didn’t have the wrong person. He was most likely the person she was looking for, at least physically. At least now he knew his own name. “Uh, w-well… I wasn’t planning on staying long?” He wanted to sound more confident, but he didn’t even know who this girl was.

“So you just weren’t going to say ‘hi’? You were just going to go to a KID heist and then leave again?” her voice just became angrier and angrier.

“Um… I-”

“Don’t give me excuses! Come here,” she grabbed his hand, a little too tightly, and turned, practically dragging Kaito behind her.

“Where are we going?” Kaito asked, looking nervously up at his body gliding through the sky.

“You’re having dinner with us.” There was no room for argument in her tone. Kaito protested anyway.   
“I can’t. I have plans.” That was exactly a lie. He had to get ‘Shinichi’ and take him to Akako so she could fix this mess.

She whirled around. She was just shorter than him, so she barely had to tilt her head to meet his eyes. The ferocity in her eyes nearly made Kaito step backward. “I wasn’t asking.”

_ Great. Now on top of being stuck in someone else’s body, I’m being forced to eat dinner with someone I don’t even know. _

As they walked, Kaito thought he recognized the girl, but he couldn’t figure out where from. After a few minutes, it clicked. She was always with Conan! She was at heists occasionally, but she seemed to be his guardian. That just made him want to leave more. The “KID Killer” had a sixth sense for recognizing him in disguise, not to mention he definitely knew whoever’s body Kaito was currently inhabiting. There was no way Kaito was going to get away with eating dinner with him.

So Kaito stealthily eased his hand out of the girl’s grip and immediately slipped into an alley.  _ Sorry lady, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be. _ He took off down the alley and scanned the sky, looking for his signature white suit. Just as he spotted Shinichi, he was alerted to the girl’s discovery of his disappearance by a loud “SHINICHI!” Kaito took off towards the  _ real _ Shinichi, rushing to escape the girl.

Shinichi hated wearing white. It was too bright, brought too much attention, and bloodstains (which he was always likely to come across) never washed out of it well. But here he was, in an all-white suit. He needed coffee.

The real Kaitou KID, in his body, burst onto the roof he was landing on just as his feet touched down. Shinichi glared at him. “And what if I didn’t know how to fly a hang glider?”

KID shrugged his shoulders. “You did, so it doesn’t matter.”

Shinichi, looking at his body without the use of a mirror and feeling that the body he was in was certainly not his own, was beginning to believe KID’s seemingly outrageous explanation of magic. “So,” he said, conceding. “You said you know someone who could help?”

KID nodded Shinichi’s head. It was weird. It was his body, but not his demeanor nor Conan’s. It was so odd to see his body doing things he’d almost never do. “Yeah. But first, let’s get you into some normal clothes. That outfit draws some attention.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes and followed KID down the stairwell, which KID had unlocked from the inside using a paperclip that had been lying on one of the desks in the empty office building. When they were on the ground floor of the building, KID put a hand up to tell Shinichi to stay still. Because he’d sure get far wearing a bright white suit anyone who didn’t live under a rock would recognize.

KID came back a few minutes later with a change of clothes. “I’ve got a ride waiting outside. Hurry up. I want to get to Akako’s place as soon as possible.”

“No, I’m so happy about this arrangement, I’m going to take my sweet time changing.” Shinichi’s tone was laced with so much sarcasm that his companion could almost feel it, although it didn’t sound right on a voice that wasn’t his own.

Shinichi went into a separate room to change, even though it was really KID’s body so it didn’t really matter. After all, he’d already have seen his own stripped body. Still, it made the detective more comfortable to know no one could see him in such a vulnerable state.

Shinichi came out wearing a casual gray jacket draped over a light blue T-shirt with tan pants and tennis shoes. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a window and didn’t know if he should relax or flinch at how similar the figure he saw was to his real body. He settled on a grimace. While there were small differences, such as the change in eye color and hairstyle, his current figure and stature were almost identical to his real appearance. Was KID secretly his long-lost twin brother or something?

He was brought out of his thoughts by an impatient cough from KID. He subconsciously flinched at seeing his body standing there angrily. It seemed like a dream, one of the ones where he was still Conan and someone else stepped in to take over his life as Shinichi. KID walked out of the building, forcing Shinichi to pull himself back to reality this time so he could follow.

Jii was waiting in the driver's seat of his small, old yet well-kept car. Kaito hated looking at his own body, even more so as it behaved like some detective. Kaito opened the door and slid smoothly into the backseat, leaving the door open behind him. “Kaito-botchama, could you close the door so we can get going?” Jii asked, thinking Kaito was merely in disguise.

When Shinichi trailed behind him, looking anxiously at the buildings around them, Kaito’s faux grandfather started. He looked back at Kaito then back at Shinichi. His face said exactly what he thought:  _ If Botchama is there, then who’s this guy? _

Shinichi slid into the backseat and closed the door behind him. “Jii-chan, this is Shinichi. He’s a detective who tried to catch me tonight.” Jii only looked more and more perplexed. “This jewel made us switch bodies,” Kaito said, picking the gem out of his pocket and holding it up for Jii to see. Understanding dawned on the old man’s face.

Shinichi started, startling the other two in the car. “If the jewel’s what switched us, maybe it can swap us back,” he said, looking excited.

Kaito shrugged. Jii was about to lecture them on how that could just make things worse, but they’d already each grabbed onto the white gem. The same brilliant white light shone from the gem. The boys braced themselves. The light flickered, dimmed, flickered again, then died out. Shinichi let go of the gem and turned to look out of the window, fuming and upset. He’d already been having a bad time recently and now he couldn’t even enjoy being back to his normal body.

Kaito glared daggers into Shinichi’s back. Did he think he was the only one not enjoying this situation? He had plans with Aoko tomorrow and if Akako didn’t have him back in his body by then, Aoko would be furious.

Shinichi could feel eyes on his back and whipped around. Kaito was surprised, both by Shinichi’s quick movement and the fear in his eyes.  _ What’s he so scared about? _

Shinichi realized the glare he’d felt was Kaito’s and relaxed. Of course They’re not here. He wasn’t even him, Conan or Shinichi.

Shinichi turned back to the window. “Jii-chan, can you take us to Akako’s?” Kaito asked. Jii had taken him there just a couple of times before, but that had been enough for the elderly man to know where to go. He nodded and they were off.

The witch gave Kaito an annoyed look. “So, you,” she pointed at Shinichi, “tried to grab a gem off him,” a wave towards Kaito, “and it threw you both backward and switched your bodies?” The thief gave a hesitant nod, causing Akako to close her eyes and rub the bridge of her nose. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?” she asked rhetorically.

“But you can fix it, right?” Kaito asked, trying to side-step Akako’s rage.

The girl let out a soft sigh. “You still have the gem?” Kaito nodded. Akako put her hand out and the boy handed the white jewel to her. The moment the cold crystal made contact with her skin, Akako visibly jumped, her eyes shooting wide open.

“Are you okay?” Kaito asked, worry lacing his voice.

Akako didn’t respond but instead examined the gem. She let out another sigh. “You’ve done it this time. This is a very powerful gem. It’ll take me a while to come up with the right spell, and even then we’ll probably have to wait for a full moon.”

“A full moon? The next one isn’t for a while. We can’t wait that long,” Shinichi broke in, losing his cool slightly. There were so many problems with not getting back into their respective bodies as soon as possible, but the biggest one was that Kaito would have to go through the process of shrinking if he stayed in Shinichi’s body past tomorrow night.

Kaito and Akako both looked at him, Akako skeptical and Kaito confused. Kaito was the first one to speak. “Why’re you in such a rush?”

“Well, we need to get back to our own lives. And if we filled in for each other, people would be bound to notice the difference,” Shinichi said, stating another concern he had. He imagined Kaitou KID trying to fill in for him as Conan. Ran would definitely notice, although he also doubted that she’d think much of it.

“Just say you went out of town on a vacation or something. A week’s absence isn’t that hard to explain,” Kaito said, knowing the detective knew that.

Akako nodded. “These things take time. I’ll have to search for more information on this gem first.”

“Then I’ll help you,” Shinichi said eagerly. He wanted this done as soon as possible.

“Do you even know anything about magic?” Akako asked.

Kaito scoffed, knowing the answer. Shinichi gave him a stern glare. “No, but I’m a fast learner.”

Kaito grabbed Shinichi’s arm, causing Shinichi to flinch and nearly push Kaito away. He’d gotten so used to being tall equaling being extra cautious. The Black Organization could be anywhere.

Kaito didn’t seem to notice Shinichi’s reaction, or he disregarded it. “Come on. You’ll only be in her way if you stay here. Let’s go. We can start messaging people to tell them we’ll be gone for a while.”

Shinichi wriggled his arm out of Kaito’s grasp. “At least let me talk to her for a few minutes!” he complained.

As the detective had hoped, Kaito left with, “Fine, but I’m waiting outside.” Shinichi had found that he was usually more tired in his real body, not to mention the habit of going to bed early that was enforced by Ran, and Kaito’s heist. He’d expected the magician to be exhausted enough to leave Shinichi alone with this ‘witch’ in favor of taking a nap in the car parked outside.

Shinichi looked at Akako seriously. “We need to get back in our normal bodies before tomorrow night,” the detective stated firmly.

“What, do you have a date or something? I told you, these things take time.”

Shinichi wavered. He didn’t want to tell these near-strangers about his predicament, but if he didn’t, there was a good chance they’d find out the following evening when Kaito suddenly dropped to the ground screaming. “It’s important. More important than something like a date,” Shinichi said, deciding to hold off on telling anyone for now but leaving the possibility open.

Akako, who had turned away to begin scanning the wall covered in books beside them for anything she thought might have useful information, turned back to the annoying detective. She opened her mouth to continue to argue with him, but then he caught her eyes. She could see the firmness in them, the determination. “I’ll see what I can do. But if we want this to work right, our only guarantee is a full moon.”

“Is there a high risk without a full moon?” Shinichi asked. Akako’s look confirmed the detective’s suspicion before she once again turned to the wall to search for books.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?”

Akako gave him a sharp look, startling Shinichi. “I’m sure. These texts are sacred to my family. Now, if you want me to get you two returned to your bodies properly and promptly, you’ll go with Kuroba-kun.” She didn’t even look to see if he’d leave. She just went back to scanning the books, walking down and hall and eventually turning into a room farther down.

Shinichi joined Kaito in the car. The magician was fast asleep with his head leaning on the car door. Shinichi thought he looked cute asleep and proceeded to consider why he’d think such a thing of his own body. He considered that maybe it wasn’t the body he found cute, but the person inside.


	3. Weighing Options

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi and Kaito head to Jii's house where Shinichi contemplates his situation and Kaito gets fed up with him.

Jii’s house was small. When you entered, you were greeted by a living room, separated from the dining room/kitchen by the change from carpet to tiles. There were three doors lined up on the left wall of the room. The first was a bathroom, then was Jii’s room, and the final room was the guest room.

Two bedrooms. Jii’s and the guest room, which housed a queen-sized bed, a small closet, and a dresser. One room for Jii and one for the boys. They had to share.

The boys didn’t hate each other, but they weren’t fond of each other either, so the idea of sharing a room was not appealing. While Shinichi was willing to admit that KID had a certain charm, Kaito had KID’s arrogance without any of the appeal. Shinichi reminded Kaito of Conan, but not the good parts of his nemesis. He embodied the child’s anxiety and pompousness but without the composed wits and charm. They enjoyed each other's alter egos more than each other.

Shinichi grimaced when he saw there were only two rooms. He looked at Kaito. “You can have the bed. I’ll just sleep on the couch.”

Jii opened his mouth to speak, but Kaito didn’t let him. “No way! That couch is so uncomfortable. My back always hurts when I wake up on that thing and I’m not letting  _ you _ do that to me. We’ll share the bed.”

Shinichi looked away, blushing slightly at the thought of sharing a bed with his nemesis. He quickly composed himself and turned back. “No. If you don’t want me to sleep on the couch, I’ll set up some blankets on the floor,” Shinichi said, knowing he wouldn’t get much sleep regardless.

Kaito considered it. After a moment of silence, during which Kaito studied Shinichi before looking away to hide the slight pink tinting his cheeks, he said, “That’ll work.” Something about Shinichi’s demeanor reminded him of Conan, in a good way.

So they entered the room and went to the closet where extra blankets were stuffed. Kaito laid out a thick comforter and Shinichi placed two throw blankets on top of it. Good enough. It was already late since the heist had ended around 11:40 and they still had to recover from the body swap, meet Akako, stop by Kaito’s (and sneak through the back to avoid being noticed by the Nakamori’s), and head to Jii’s. Neither had a watch, but Kaito estimated it was around 12:50 at least. So Kaito hit the bed and passed out.

Kaito was usually a light sleeper, but he was mentally drained from the heist and Shinichi’s body was exhausted from the process of growing, so he fell into a deep sleep.

Shinichi didn’t even lay down. While Kaito’s body was also tired from the physical effort required from a heist, Shinichi couldn’t sleep. He was an anxious, paranoid mess. His body was back to normal, so if a photo was taken or the wrong people saw, the Organization would know that Kudo Shinichi was alive and would hunt him down. On top of that, Kaito was in his body, which would shrink soon. He didn’t want anyone else to experience that kind of pain  _ and _ it would reveal his identity. A lose-lose situation. So he spent the night pacing, coming up with excuses for Akako to hurry, weighing his options between risking a failure in the process of switching back to their normal bodies and letting Kaito, Akako, and Jii all learn his identity as well as potentially risking Kaito’s life, and jumping at every sound he heard. Occasionally, he would look at Kaito sleeping and find the sleeping magician cute. Maybe he did have KID’s charm.

At around 5:00 AM, Shinichi, finally completely exhausted from anxiety and paranoia, laid down on the makeshift bed they’d arranged for him and passed out. Kaito woke up around 8:00 AM and was surprised to see the sleeping detective out cold and that he found him oddly adorable. He looked calm for the first time. Kaito let the detective continue to sleep as he left to go eat breakfast.

It was at 11:37 that Shinichi finally woke up. His hair was ruffled and sticking out from all angles. The pajamas he was wearing were heavily creased and wrinkled, probably from him rolling around in his sleep. Shinichi groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes and stretched. The events from the previous night hit him like a brick and put him on high alert. He immediately stood and hurried out of the room. Relief waved over him as he saw Kaito, still 5’8” and not curled up on the floor screaming in pain. But how long would that last? He’d taken the antidote around 8:00 the previous night and it was already almost noon. Eight hours. That’s all he had to convince Akako and Kaito that they needed to get back in their regular bodies tonight.

Kaito perked up from his spot at the table where he’d be idly chatting with Jii. He saw Shinichi’s shoulders go from tense to relaxed and right back to tense.  _ What’s he so worried about? It’s understandable to be anxious or upset, but he’s a nervous wreck. Why? There’s something else going on here… _ Kaito eyed Shinichi suspiciously, somehow making the boy’s shoulders stiffen even more.

Shinichi sat at the table. He knew they were planning to stay inside all day; it’d be too risky with Ekoda and Beika being neighboring districts. They could run into anybody either of them knew and not know how to act. There were some cold remains of breakfast - bacon, sausage, and two pieces of toast - that Shinichi heated up in the microwave. As the food spun in the microwave he turned to Kaito. “My name’s Kudo Shinichi, by the way.” It had only just struck him that they hadn’t introduced themselves.

“Kuroba Kaito,” Kaito answered curtly, not looking at Shinichi but instead staring out the window. He gestured towards the elderly man. “Konosuke Jii.”

Shinichi could take a hint. Kaito didn’t want to talk. The room was silent after that except for the beeping of the microwave when Shinichi’s food was ready. He chewed quietly. After he had finished, Jii couldn’t take the silence anymore and turned on the television in the living room, which was visible from the table.

After a few minutes, Kaito was irritated enough to turn to Shinichi. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Shinichi cuckold dryly. “What isn’t?”

Kaito rolled his eyes. “You’re way too nervous about this situation. There’s more to it than just us switching bodies, and I think it relates to you hounding Akako.”

Shinichi forced his expression to stay even. “I’m just eager to get back to my life. Is that a problem?”

“It is if you get Akako to switch us back without the full moon and we end up sharing a body or something.”   
Shinichi turned away. He didn’t know the chances of the spell failing if it was performed without a full moon, but he figured it was better than potentially risking Kaito’s life. It wasn’t a matter of Kaito and Akako learning his identity anymore; they were clearly good at keeping secrets since he was Kaitou KID and she knew. It was that he didn’t wish anyone to go through the agony of their body shrinking and that, even as Conan, if he behaved oddly then he’d be in danger. Shinichi’s death wasn’t confirmed, there was even evidence he was alive, and between KID heists and situations like what he’d done in London he’d already drawn attention to Conan and if anyone did any research into Kogoro they’d discover that he was incompetent until Conan showed up to live with him and that he was literally asleep when he solved his cases, not just posing. If anyone looked closely at Kogoro or Conan, he - Kaito - would be in danger.

“Are you going to answer me? Why are you in such a rush?” Kaito asked, getting irritated. Why wouldn’t he just say what was bothering him?

“I have my reasons.”   
Kaito clenched his fists.  _ Poker face. Poker face. Poker face. _ “My life is on the line, too,” Kaito said, gritting his teeth. “I have a right to know why you’re trying to risk our lives.”

Shinichi, still not facing Kaito, bit his lip. He hadn’t come with a good excuse despite hours of trying to think of one the previous night. He idly wondered, if he was Conan, would Kaito listen to what he was saying? KID was the one person with whom Conan had more credibility than Shinichi. He let out a little chuckle at the thought, causing Kaito’s rage to increase.

“What’s funny?” he asked, trying to stay calm enough to not spin the detective towards him and backhand him.

“Nothing,” Shinichi said. Kaito broke.

The magician gripped Shinichi’s - really, his - shoulder and whirled him around to look him in the eyes. The sudden, aggressive movement left Shinichi with wide, fearful eyes as his hand shot out to punch Kaito in the face, a strike the thief narrowly dodged.

They looked at each other. The fearful look that almost made Shinichi appear like a cornered animal was gradually replaced with understanding followed by regret. Kaito didn’t notice. He was livid. “What is wrong with you?” Kaito hollered, bringing some fear back into Shinichi’s eyes as the sleuth flinched.

Shinichi took a deep breath before responding, trying to keep his anxiety under control. “I’m sorry,” he said, trying not to stutter and forcefully keeping his voice even. “Why I’m in a rush, that’s personal. I can’t tell you.” Even if KID was good at keeping secrets, knowing him, he’d try to help. He couldn’t let anyone else get involved.   
Kaito was about to yell at Shinichi again, go on a tangent about why he should be told even if it is personal considering he was technically Shinichi right now, but the look on Shinichi’s face stopped him. The sleuth looked like he wanted to tell him, he looked apologetic but his eyes shone with fear. Kaito dropped his hand from Shinichi’s shoulder and turned away. “Fine. Whatever. But we’re waiting until the full moon. I want to get back to normal as soon as possible too, you know. I just don’t think it’s worth the risk of the spell going wrong.”

“It is,” Shinichi said. His voice wavered ever so slightly, but his tone was firm.

“What is?” Kaito asked, strong but not aggressive, and turned back to look into those familiar eyes. Maybe it was because they were really his own eyes, but Kaito thought the look in them seemed familiar.

_ Your life. _ Shinichi only met Kaito’s eyes for a moment before lowering his gaze. “I can’t tell you. But trust me.”

“Trust you? A complete stranger? I only met you last night.”

A small smile graced the detective’s face, hidden from Kaito’s view since his head was down. They weren’t strangers. KID and Conan were nemeses and practically friends. Then again, that was their alter egos, so maybe they could be considered strangers.

Kaito sighed and sat back in his chair. “Fine. Don’t tell me. But I’ll try to talk Akako out of doing it early.” When Shinichi only picked up his head, he added, “You know, if I knew why you were rushing then maybe I’d agree with you.” Shinichi still didn’t respond, so Kaito gave up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really surprised by how many people liked this. A lot of people left comments, and I thank anyone who does. I didn't realize how much that means to an author until I posted this, but it really does motivate me a lot and gives me a lot more confidence, so thank you.


	4. Cast the Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi’s desperate but Kaito likes teasing him. Akako realizes why Shinichi was pressuring her.

A few minutes after their conversation, Shinichi stood up from the table. Kaito followed him with his eyes. “Where are you going?” he asked when the detective walked towards the door.   
“To go see Akako-san,” Shinichi answered simply.

“There’s no point. She’ll be in school right now.” Kaito was sure to throw heists on school nights occasionally so the task force didn’t start thinking he might be a student. Shinichi huffed and plopped down on the couch.

Four hours later, Shinichi stood up again. Kaito, now sitting on the couch instead of at the table, didn’t even take his eyes off the TV. “She stays after school for a club. She’ll be home at 6:30 at the earliest.”

Shinichi huffed. He kept a cool face, but he was panicking on the inside. 6:30? If he was wrong about taking the antidote at 8 yesterday, they’d have almost no time before Kaito started shrinking. Not to mention that he needed time to convince Akako to change them back without the full moon. So Shinichi sat on the couch again, trying to look calm but Kaito recognized some anxious habits, like the way his foot bobbed and how he continuously shifted his position as though unable to sit still.

At 6:00, Shinichi shot up from the couch. “Let’s go,” he said.

Kaito looked from Jii to Shinichi. “Jii-chan isn’t driving,” he said. Jii looked at him confused, but when Shinichi looked to him for confirmation, the old man just nodded.

“Then I’ll drive,” Shinichi replied, grabbing Kaito’s arm.

“You can’t drive Jii-chan’s car,” Kaito said. “What if you got in an accident?”

Shinichi rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll call a cab.” Kaito shrugged his shoulders.

It took fifteen minutes for the taxi to arrive in front of the house. Fifteen minutes he didn’t have. Shinichi flung the door open and practically threw himself into the car. Kaito leisurely sat down and as he reached to close the door he said, “Oh, I left my phone inside.” So he slowly got out of the car, took short, relaxed steps to the house, and arrived back at the cab two minutes later. He liked watching Shinichi squirm.

Shinichi told the driver their destination and they were off. Traffic was heavy and it didn’t help that the driver had a habit of going five miles under the speed limit. How unlucky could Shinichi get?

It was 7:15 when they arrived at Akako’s. Shinichi tossed the driver money, threw himself out of the car, ran to Akako’s door and began banging on it. Kaito trailed behind him lazily.

Akako opened the door a minute later. Shinichi looked at her, desperation in his eyes. “Do you know the spell?” he asked.

“Not even a hello,” the witch said sarcastically, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame. “So rude.” Then she noticed the look in Shinichi’s eyes. She uncrossed her arms and straightened. “I know what I need to do and I have everything around. But I’m not doing it early unless you give me a good reason.”

They nearly missed Kaito’s sharp inhale. Nearly. When they turned to him, he was rubbing his chest where his heart was.

Shinichi turned back to Akako, pleading with his eyes. She could guess that something unpleasant was about to happen and that Kaito’s sudden chest pains had to do with why Shinichi was so eager to get them swapped back. She nodded. “I’ll be right back.” The girl closed the door and hurried to her basement to gather the things she needed. She returned two minutes later carrying salt, her staff, and some oddly colored elixirs that were probably better left unidentified.

Kaito was no longer rubbing his chest but was instead glaring at Shinichi. He turned to Akako when she got back. “Akako, really, let’s wait fo-” His sentence cut off suddenly into something akin to a gasp.

Akako looked at Shinichi with worry. He nodded to confirm her suspicions. This was why he was rushing. She started setting up the spell, pouring the salt to create a circle with a pentagram in the middle, dumping various amounts of different liquids into the center of the circle. By the time she finished the preparations and turned back to the boys, Kaito was on the ground with Shinichi beside him.

Kaito was in too much pain to be aware of his surroundings. He didn’t hear Shinichi’s comforting words, didn’t feel his tender, caring touch. He didn’t hear Akako giving Shinichi instructions, didn’t feel Shinichi picking him up, didn’t understand the difference between being held in Shinichi’s arms and being laid on the grass.

Shinichi followed Akako’s instructions, laying Kaito down on one side of the pentagram before going to stand on the other side himself. Kaito was steaming and let out a violent scream. At least now Shinichi knew what he sounded and looked like when he shrunk. He looked pathetic and sounded like he felt - like he was dying.

“It’s okay,” he said, looking at Kaito. “He’s not dying.” He was saying it just as much for Kaito as he was for Akako, but wasn’t sure if the magician heard him over the pain or not. It was also for himself. He knew every time he grew and every time he shrunk, there was a chance he could die. Every time he felt that awful pain and wretched heat overcome him, he couldn’t help but wonder,  _ Is this the time I die? _

Akako tried her best to tune out Kaito’s agony and turned her gaze up towards the moon, her staff in her right hand. “Lucifer, I call to you. I ask you, lend me your strength. I wish to return these men back to the way nature intended, the way they were created, but I require your help. Grant me a portion of your power!”

Kaito didn’t hear Akako casting the spell. He didn’t hear anything over the screams. Who was screaming? Why? Were they okay? He wanted to help whoever was crying out in pain, but he was in too much agony himself. He couldn’t feel anything over his pain. His mouth tasted like blood. His eyes were closed and, once he realized it was him who was screaming, he began thinking the same terrifying thing over and over again:  _ I’m dying. _

Even with his eyes closed, Kaito could see the brilliant red that overcame him, Shinichi, and Akako.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind, Akako cares about Kaito a lot. He and Aoko are basically the only people she cares about. For this book, her whole motivation pretty much just comes from wanting to help Kaito.  
> I’m debating on whether or not to add a new conflict and continue writing or let the story end here. I’m really torn and not sure what to do because I’ve already continued writing and the next part would be really fun to write, but I don’t want to expand unnecessarily and possibly ruin it his. What to do? What to do?


End file.
